Star Wars | Episode X: The Edge of Destiny

Chapter 36: Master Codebreaker

The lift doors swish open.

"Well, now, look at who we have here, my lovelies."

The guards attempt to frisk Jace and me.  Jace allows them to frisk him but I have other plans.  With the flick of my wrists, both security guards are flown back against the opposite walls.  They are knocked out from the impact.  

Master Codebreaker sips his champagne in a glass flute and eyes me walking briskly towards him.

"You snake!" I scream at him.

Turning his head slightly, he puts his glass down on the end table by his seat on the black, leather lounger.  Several glamorously garbed women sit near him on both sides of the lounger.  They grow nervous as the distance between myself and them decreases.

"Oh, my dear Jed---"

I land a devastating blow against his left cheek. He's tossed to the side of the lounger and onto the lap of his female companion in a silver dress---he's lucky I didn't utilize the Force with that hit.

"You gutless rat! You flee once First Order mercenaries appear and I lose ten of our best operatives!" 

Jace runs up from behind me and grabs my right forearm before I can lay another blow on the man. 

"Now is not the best time to settle old scores," Jace says in a low voice.  His eyes pierce into my soul and I relax my arm. I watch as the cybernetics in his eye twitches. He releases his grasp on my forearm and I let it fall to the side.

"Well then, I guess you know that we are here," Jace says in a good mood and lowers his hand to the Master Codebreaker to grab.  Reluctantly, he grabs Jace's hand and rises to a standing position.  The women that surround him leave the lounger and run away to the corner bar---away from any further interactions.

"I'm not mad.  I did deserve that one, my dear," Master Codebreaker says grabbing his drink from the table.  He eyes me as he does so.  Fixing the top half of his black and gray suit he brushes away any wrinkles on his clothing.  Slicking his black and white hair back---he forces a smile.  

Anger is growing inside of me---darkness clouds my mind.  This mission couldn't have been on a worse planet.  This whole system is flowing in the Dark side of the Force.  I'm restraining as much as I can---suppressing him as much as I can.  I reach out to the Force and slow my racing heart.  I breathe in and rebalance my mind as best I can. 

"You know why we are here.  There's no point for introductions because it appears we already know one another," Jace says trying to calm the energy of the room. He moves between Master Codebreaker and me ---to intercept any possible conflict.

"You betray me again, it'll be the last time you ever do so," I threaten.  Pointing my left pointer finger at his chest.

"That is fair," he says raising both his hands in the air.  His drink remains in his left hand as he takes a final sip and places it back on the table. "Well, now is as good as ever.  Let's get started shall we?"

Master Codebreaker walks across the large parlor and walks over to the nearby hallway. "Maz did inform me of your plans, so no need for a long synopsis."  We follow him down the winding hall.  He walks over to a portrait hanging on the wall.  Of course, a portrait of himself---he's as vain as ever.

Tilting the portrait, it opens up the wall and a secret room.  "What is it with men hiding their secrets behind the walls?" I roll my eyes from the thought as I think about the hidden Sith library on Coruscant. 

Inside, a very large room covered wall-to-wall with computers.  It's somewhat dark inside but I can see a small HoloTable in the corner of the room.  Looking at some screens, I can see that he has eyes and ears not only on this planet---but everywhere.